The problem is the end users. I see this a lot as we work in an IE shop, IE7 to be precise because of some sensitive stupid web services that won't run in anything else.

Anyway my point is that they default to Bing, there is an option to change it permanently in pretty much an identical way that you described in Mint, yet 99% of the users don't do this, and of those 99%, 100% of them talk as if they are about to gift me their firstborn after I show them how to change it.

NEVER underestimate the power of "defaults" and the stupidity of users.

You said it "over 100 miles from Vegas" so...

Unfortunately we didn't have this debate when they installed a vast network of cameras with automatic number-plate recognition and a huge back-end database to handle the data. The police are never going to give up their grip on that particular tool willingly, so we are stuck with it.

We actually tried that in the UK, at places like Sellafield, and it didn't work out very well. Stuff started to grow in the ponds, rain water mixed in, birds picked it up and flew off with it, it evaporated into rainwater...

Oh so now you call me an arsehole just because of the way that I talk despite what I mean and my intentions? What next? All Aussies are arseholes because we shorten words?

And yes the connotation of deciding to place names on people who talk in a certain way regardless of meaning is just as much a form of prejudice as racism. I suppose you also pick on retards when they say something you don't like because they just don't know any better.

You sir are one hell of a self absorbed prick.

These days average is watching hours of streaming video from Netflix, YouTube, Amazon, Hulu and all the others.

Reminds me of conversations I used to have with people buying 160GB hard drives. Does ATT consider 1KB = 2^10 or 10^3 bytes?

The US isn't the only country with nuclear power. Some like China and India have been pushing it hard and investing vast amounts of money in developing it, yet have still failed to deal with this problem.

Also, nit-picking perhaps but "several decades" implies nuclear was being blocked back in the 50s, which clearly it wasn't.

It's pretty pathetic that the pro-nuclear crowd have to blame unnamed eco-hippies for all their woes. A bunch of apparently quite dumb, reactionary and fearful people somehow dictate policy for multi billion dollar industry with armies of lawyers and wads of cash to throw at lobbying.

The simple reality is that all this wonderful new technology just isn't economically viable. The cost of development and the risk that after spending tens of billions it won't work or make any money is just too high. There are too many unknowns and uncertainties, and a general reluctance to invest in a technology that takes decades to pay off when alternatives are growing so rapidly.

Just look at how hard energy companies are fighting the future to preserve their current revenue streams. Considering how scared they are of what seems inevitable, would you want want to give them money?

I switched to chrome because of this. With lots of tabs open Firefox have no indication of the number of tabs. At that point I'm usually interested in going through sequentially anyway and not go through by specific content, I.e. open up interesting Slashdot articles.

Tragically Flash support still seems to be working. I was hoping that moving to 64 bit would break it.

Oh right so now we need to segregate language based on how people react? That's ludicrous and would lead to us not being able to say anything at all.

I saw a comedian today while at a conference. The conference organisers said at the bar tonight that this is the first comedian they've employed in a long time since previously one person wrote a long winded letter that they were deeply offended by the previous one. I asked the comedian what he thought of it and he turned around around and said that he guarantees a percentage of the room thought he was offensive and that there are other people offended by the fact that some people thought that offensive.

You can't please everyone.

Now I live in a country and a culture where we shorten everything. I will call Pakis Pakis, and Kiwis Kiwis. If they want to take offence at it that is entirely their business, and it is entirely their problem as well. If they can't accept language the way it is given (I do not mean to offend by this) then there's really nothing more I can do. An attempt to please everyone is exactly what has resulted in the pussyfooting around political correctness that quite frankly offends me. And I REALLY mean that. I find it offensive that someone thinks I should be restricting what words I can and cannot use.

Do you work for the Chinese government?

(see what I did there? Some people will laugh at the connection between your form of censorship and the government. The government themselves, they'll likely be offended).

Anyway I think you should have a cement pill and harden up.

Neither do I, but fortunately my neighbour does.